BAMAKO, March 17 - Gunmen attacked and briefly seized a Malian army base overnight, killing at least 16 soldiers and destroying five vehicles in central Mali's Mopti region, two local councilors in the area where the attack happened said on Sunday.
The base is in the village of Dioura, the mayor of the nearest town Kareri, Youssouf Coulibaly, told Reuters from inside it. Central Mali has in the past few years been overrun by jihadists with links to al Qaeda.